Epidemiology of bloodstream infections and surface swab cultures in burn patients.

Aim: For infection control in burn patients, it is essential to understand the epidemiology of bloodstream infection (BSI) and the local microbiological situation. There are few studies on blood and swab culture results among burn patients in Japan. The purpose of this study was to investigate the epidemiology of BSI and swab cultures in burn patients. Methods: Data from 355 burn patients over 13 years from 2008 were analyzed retrospectively. Bloodstream infection was defined as the isolation of bacteria or fungi from two or more blood cultures. The characteristics of burn patients and microorganisms detected from various cultures were analyzed. Results: The mortality rate among burn patients with BSI was 37.8%, which was more than twice that among burn patients without BSI. The univariate analysis showed that inhalation injury, total burn surface area (TBSA), and mortality were associated with BSI. The multivariate logistic analysis indicated that TBSA was an independent risk factor for BSI. The most frequently isolated organism from blood and swab cultures were Candida species and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, respectively. Seventy-five percent of the microorganisms isolated from blood were detected previously in swab cultures performed within 1 week from blood cultures. Conclusions: The prognosis of burn patients with BSI was poor, and TBSA was an independent risk factor for BSI. The predominant organisms isolated from blood and swab cultures were Candida species and P. aeruginosa, respectively. Surveillance wound swab cultures could be utilized for monitoring the local microbiological situation in burn patients.

Delayed tension gastrothorax caused necrosis of stomach and re-expansion pulmonary edema: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Traumatic tension gastrothorax is a rare and potentially fatal condition occurring in patients with congenital or acquired diaphragmatic defects. Traumatic tension gastrothorax leads to acute and severe respiratory distress. Delayed tension gastrothorax that develops late during injury can be more severe. CASE PRESENTATION: An 84-year-old woman was brought to our facility with cardiac arrest and returned to spontaneous circulation after 2 min of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Computed tomography showed diaphragmatic injury and tension gastrothorax due to trauma because of a fall episode few days earlier. Emergency thoracotomy and laparotomy was performed, because nasogastric tube insertion failed. There was a partially necrotic stomach in the chest cavity. The stomach was retracted from the thoracic cavity into the abdominal cavity and placed in its proper position. There was a 5 cm tear of the diaphragm. The tear was sutured and closed and then the necrotic area of the stomach was resected. Although the surgery relieved the intrathoracic compression, it resulted in re-expansion pulmonary edema immediately after surgery and hypoxemia. The patient was unable to overcome the hypoxemic state and eventually died. CONCLUSIONS: Delayed tension gastrothorax can lead not only to obstructive shock due to intrathoracic compression but also to more severe organ ischemia and re-expansion pulmonary edema due to insufflation.

Critical anterior mediastinal hematoma without internal mammary artery injury caused by cardiopulmonary resuscitation: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Massive anterior mediastinal hematoma due to chest compression during cardiopulmonary resuscitation is often caused by internal mammary artery injury. However, critical massive anterior mediastinal hematoma without damage to major blood vessels is extremely rare. We report a case of life-threatening anterior mediastinal hematoma without internal mammary artery injury during extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation. CASE PRESENTATION: A 70-year-old man was transferred to our emergency department because of ventricular fibrillation arrest. Manual chest compressions and venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation were applied in the angiography room. Acute myocardial infarction was diagnosed, and percutaneous coronary intervention with stent placement was performed. Despite the establishment of venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation flow, the hemodynamics were unstable. Computed tomography revealed a massive anterior mediastinal hematoma compressing the right heart system and causing obstructive shock. Although local incision and anterior mediastinal hematoma drainage were tried for resolving obstructive shock, the patient's anemia did not improve, and there was still continuous hemorrhaging from the drainage tube. A median thoracotomy was then performed. There was no injury of the main trunk of the internal mammary artery but only hemorrhaging from the sternal fracture site. The patient's hemodynamics and anemia improved after hemostasis and gauze packing. Re-thoracotomy for gauze removal and sternal closure was performed three days post-hospitalization. CONCLUSIONS: It is important to consider hemorrhaging and unstable hemodynamics in patients who receive extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Therefore, a thoracotomy may take precedence over intravascular treatment for restoring hemostasis when there is no information regarding the bleeding site, such as the presence of extravasation.

Resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta for ruptured pancreaticoduodenal artery aneurysm.

Resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta is useful as a troubleshooting response to hemorrhage and a temporary method for maintaining patient hemodynamics.

Effect of acute coagulopathy before fluid administration in mortality for burned patients.

BACKGROUND: The presence of acute coagulopathy and its effect on prognosis in burn patients are unclear. No studies are extant verifying early coagulopathy before fluid administration in burn patients. The current study focused on arrival coagulopathy before volume resuscitation was begun in earnest. METHODS: Data from 137 burn patients transported directly to the hospital without fluid administration from January 2006 to December 2019 were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: The non-survival group had significantly increased age, total burn surface area (TBSA) burned, various scoring systems, prothrombin time-international normalized ratio (PT-INR), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), the presence of coagulopathy, and lactate levels compared to the survival group. In the logistic regression analysis, the incidence of coagulopathy was independently associated with mortality. The coagulopathy group had significant increases in TBSA burned, various scoring systems, PT-INR, APTT, lactate levels, and the mortality than the noncoagulopathy group. The prognostic burn index (PBI) was significantly correlated with PT-INR and APTT. We also found a significant correlation between the serum lactate and the PT-INR, APTT, and PBI. CONCLUSIONS: Acute coagulopathy of burn patients might be present on arrival to the hospital before fluid replacement which is an independent risk factor for in-hospital mortality.

Reevaluation for prognostic value of prognostic burn index in severe burn patients.

AIM: The prognostic burn index (PBI), which consists of half partial-thickness burn surface area plus full-thickness burn surface area and age, has been widely used to predict mortality in Japan. However, the prognostic value of PBI has not been investigated sufficiently. The purpose of the present study is to clinically reevaluate the PBI in severe burn patients. METHODS: Data of 69 severe burn patients admitted to the burn center at Kyorin University Hospital (Tokyo, Japan) from January 2008 to December 2017 were analyzed retrospectively. The primary outcome in this study was in-hospital mortality. RESULTS: The overall in-hospital mortality rate was 34.8%. There were significant differences in age, the presence of inhalation injury, total burned surface area, full-thickness burn area, burn index, and PBI between survivors and non-survivors. In logistic regression analysis, PBI was independently associated with mortality, while the presence of inhalation injury was not. A PBI above the threshold of 105 was significantly associated with in-hospital mortality. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for PBI was 0.85 (95% confidence interval, 0.73-0.93). CONCLUSION: The PBI could be a good prognostic indicator. A PBI above the threshold of 105 was associated with mortality among severe burn patients treated in burn-care facilities.

Effect of high-dose vitamin C therapy on severe burn patients: a nationwide cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Vitamin C is a well-documented antioxidant that reduces oxidative stress and fluid infusion in high doses; however, the association between high-dose vitamin C and reduced mortality remains unclear. This study evaluates the effect of high-dose vitamin C in severe burn patients under two varying thresholds. METHODS: We enrolled adult patients with severe burns (burn index ≥ 15) who were registered in the Japanese Diagnosis Procedure Combination national inpatient database from 2010 to 2016. Propensity score matching was performed between patients who received high-dose vitamin C within 1 day of admission (vitamin C group) and those who did not (control group). High-dose vitamin C was defined as a dosage in excess of 10 g or 24 g within 2 days of admission. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. RESULTS: Eligible patients (n = 2713) were categorized into the vitamin C group (n = 157) or control group (n = 2556). After 1:4 propensity score matching, we compared 157 and 628 patients who were administered high-dose vitamin C (> 10-g threshold) and controls, respectively. Under this particular threshold, high-dose vitamin C therapy was associated with reduced in-hospital mortality (risk ratio, 0.79; 95% confidence interval, 0.66-0.95; p = 0.006). In contrast, in-hospital mortality did not differ between the control and high-dose vitamin C group under the > 24-g threshold (risk ratio, 0.83; 95% confidence interval, 0.68-1.02; p = 0.068). CONCLUSIONS: High-dose vitamin C therapy was associated with reduced mortality in patients with severe burns when used under a minimum threshold of 10 g within the first 2 days of admission. While "high-dose" vitamin C therapy lacks a universal definition, the present study reveals that different "high-dose" regimens may yield improved outcomes.

Critical Malperfusion Caused by Central Aortic Repair for Acute Aortic Dissection: A Case Report.

We encountered a case of hepatic malperfusion resulting from central repair for Stanford type A acute aortic dissection (AAD). A 78-year-old woman had AAD, for which ascending aortic repair was performed. Hepatic malperfusion developed 3 days postoperatively. The superior mesenteric and celiac arteries were occluded by a false lumen (FL). We believed that the surgery caused a change in the blood flow in FL. Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and stenting of the superior mesenteric artery were performed, and the patient's condition improved. Thus, intervention for the branched artery should be performed prior to central repair, depending on the type of malperfusion.

Sufficient therapeutic effect of cryopreserved frozen adipose-derived regenerative cells on burn wounds.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether cryopreserved (frozen) adipose-derived regenerative cells (ADRCs) have a therapeutic effect on burn wound healing as well as freshly isolated (fresh) ADRCs. METHODS: Full thickness burns were created on dorsum of nude mice and burn wound was excised. The wound was covered by artificial dermis with; (i) fresh ADRCs, (ii) frozen ADRCs, and (iii) PBS (control). The assessment for wound healing was performed by morphological, histopathological and immunohistochemical analyses. RESULTS: In vivo analyses exhibited the significant therapeutic effect of frozen ADRCs on burn wound healing up to the similar or higher level of fresh ADRCs. There were significant differences of wound closure, epithelized tissue thickness, and neovascularization between the treatment groups and control group. Although there was no significant difference of therapeutic efficacy between fresh ADRC group and frozen ADRC group, frozen ADRCs improved burn wound healing process in dermal regeneration with increased great type I collagen synthesis compared with fresh ADRCs. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that frozen ADRCs allow us to apply not only quickly but also for multiple times, and the cryopreserved ADRCs could therefore be useful for the treatment of burn wounds in clinical settings.

The Clinical Significance of Serum 1,3-ß-D-Glucan For the Diagnosis of Candidemia in Severe Burn Patients.

Although the serum 1,3-ß-D-glucan test has been used as an early diagnostic marker of candidemia, there are few studies regarding the association of serum 1,3-ß-D-glucan levels with candidemia in severe burn patients. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the clinical significance of 1,3-ß-D-glucan for the diagnosis of candidemia in severe burn patients. Data from 51 severe burn patients whose serum levels of 1,3-ß-D-glucan had been measured for the suspicion of invasive fungal infection were analyzed retrospectively. The primary outcome in this study was the detection of candidemia. The levels of 1,3-ß-D-glucan (pg/ml) in candidemia and noncandidemia groups ranged from 41.1 to 600.0 with a median of 90.6 and from 5.0 to 41.3 with a median of 6.8, respectively. A significant difference in the levels of 1,3-ß-D-glucan was observed between the two groups. The optimal cutoff value was 40 pg/ml, with a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 95%, whereas the conventional cutoff value (11 pg/ml) resulted in a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 68%. The 1,3-ß-D-glucan test was found to be useful for detecting candidemia in severe burn patients, and the cutoff value might be set to 40 pg/ml to detect it more accurately.

Cyanide poisoning is a possible cause of cardiac arrest among fire victims, and empiric antidote treatment may improve outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Carbon monoxide and cyanide poisoning are important causes of death due to fire. Carbon monoxide is more regularly assessed than cyanide at the site of burn or smoke inhalation treatment due to its ease in assessment and simplicity to treat. Although several forensic studies have demonstrated the significance of cyanide poisoning in fire victims using blood cyanide levels, the association between the cause of cardiac arrest and the concentration of cyanide among fire victims has not been sufficiently investigated. This study aimed to investigate the frequency of cyanide-induced cardiac arrest in fire victims and to assess the necessity of early empiric treatment for cyanide poisoning. METHODS: This study was a retrospective analysis of fire victims with cardiac arrest at the scene who were transported to a trauma and critical care center, Kyorin University Hospital, from January 2014 to June 2017. Patients whose concentration of cyanide was measured were included. RESULTS: Five patients were included in the study; all died despite cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Three of these victims were later found to have lethal cyanide levels (>3 µg/ml). Two of the patients had non-lethal carboxyhemoglobin levels under 50% and might have been saved if hydroxocobalamin had been administered during resuscitation. CONCLUSION: According to our results, cyanide-induced cardiac arrest may be more frequently present among fire victims than previously believed, and early empiric treatment with hydroxocobalamin may improve outcomes for these victims in cases where cardiac arrest is of short duration.

Resuscitative Endovascular Balloon Occlusion of the Aorta Using a Low-Profile Device is Easy and Safe for Emergency Physicians in Cases of Life-Threatening Hemorrhage.

BACKGROUND: Bleeding from hemorrhagic shock can be immediately controlled by blocking the proximal part of the hemorrhagic point using either resuscitative thoracotomy for aortic cross-clamping or insertion of a large-caliber (10-14Fr) resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) device via the femoral artery. However, such methods are very invasive and have various complications. With recent progress in endovascular treatment, a low-profile REBOA device (7Fr) has been developed. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to report our experience of this low-profile REBOA device and to evaluate the usefulness of emergency physician-operated REBOA in life-threatening hemorrhagic shock. METHODS: Ten patients with refractory hemorrhagic shock underwent REBOA using this device via the femoral artery. All REBOA procedures were performed by emergency physicians. The success rate of the insertion, vital signs, and REBOA-related complications were evaluated. RESULTS: Median age was 54 years (interquartile range 33-78 years). The causes of hemorrhagic shock were trauma (n = 4; 1 blunt and 3 penetrating), ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (n = 3), and obstetric hemorrhage (n = 3). Two patients had cardiopulmonary arrest upon arrival. REBOA procedure was successful in all patients, and all became hemodynamically stable to undergo definitive interventions after REBOA. There were no REBOA-related complications. The mortality rate within 24 h and 30 days was 40%. CONCLUSIONS: This REBOA device was useful for emergency physicians in life-threatening hemorrhagic shock because of its ease in handling and low invasiveness.

Independent risk factors for a complicated hospital course in intensive care unit overdose patients.

Aim: The purpose of the present study was to identify risk factors associated with a complicated hospital course in overdose patients admitted to the intensive care unit. Methods: A total of 335 overdose patients were retrospectively studied in the surgical and medical intensive care unit of an academic tertiary hospital. Factors possibly associated with a complicated hospital course were evaluated. Complicated hospital course was defined as the occurrence of pneumonia, rhabdomyolysis, decubitus ulcer, nerve palsy, prolonged intubation, prolonged hospitalization, or death. Results: Of the 335 overdose patients, 93 (27.8%) had a complicated hospital course. Complicated hospital course was found to be associated with a high number of ingested pills (median, 135 [interquartile range, 78-240] versus 84 [53-134] tablets, P < 0.0001), low Glasgow Coma Scale score on admission (7 [3-11] versus 13 [8-15], P < 0.0001), and a high serum lactate level on admission (1.8 [1.0-3.0] versus 1.4 [0.9-2.0] mg/dL, P < 0.01) on univariate analysis of these factors in patients with and without a complicated hospital course. The independent risk factors for a complicated hospital course identified on multivariate analysis were a high number of ingested pills (≥100 tablets), low admission Glasgow Coma Scale score (<9), and high serum lactate on admission (≥2.0 mg/dL). The probability of a complicated hospital course for patients with 0, 1, 2, or all 3 independent risk factors were 7%, 22%, 40%, and 81%, respectively. Conclusion: The total number of ingested pills, admission Glasgow Coma Scale score, and serum lactate level on admission are predictive of a complicated hospital course in overdose patients admitted to the intensive care unit.